The only one among us sir, In all the MOAB line, 'T is you alone who know the place Where the sun refuse to shine. "T is you who count the grisly bends Of that cavern deep and foul, And may you pull your head out soon, And salvage, thus, your sowl.

Fret not. That will change. One day you shall be weeping and gnashing your tooth and pouring sackcloth and ashes over your heads. Then the moon won't shed her light and you will be where the sun don't shine and All Will Be Awful.

Had a lovely wuiet dinner out, a rare treat, with BBVW in honor of my boifday.

Today was my first real day of retirement. I sat for a long time looking at all my lists, made fresh coffee, fired up the laptop and started getting it ready fro Da Getaway, and ended up coming here to banter with the Ranter. I swan, byes and goils, it is most unusual to have empty time in which to place things. A plethora, a richness of self-determination lies before me. Oh, what shall I ever DO? :D Ne'er mind, I will think of something.

I do know this much--my blessings and joys far outweigh any trials and tribulations in my life, and I ain't about to start looking to change that.

They sure sound like they might do ta ride the range with a bit. Ain't got much swamps, but we sure got a lot of nothin' that does go on and on. They might fit in out here like cold fingers in a warm glove. It they don't, well, the kitties need to eat too.

Now, some of you understood that but I suspect some of you may have had to read that slowly or more than once. Welllll... jam it all together and play it in real time rather than in slo-mo and ye got da same stuff what was inna video eh? An if yer still up yer arse no amounta weed be ye or dey is gonna clear dat fog eh?

Like Monty Python's Camalot, MOM is a poeticly silly place albeit with much better humor parody and satire than on any of the 1,200 cable channels.

HBD Amos.

The last time I saw you venture out the front door of this sole thread was a year ago when I wrote about "the world's most interesting man" and stuck your name in it.

For many of you I have imagined that you spend up to 8 hours a day on this web site. If you have mastered the time continuem that may not be very much time, but it sure looks like it from this side. It may just prove that time for friends is more precious and timeless than $.

Multi-level facilitating of inner management parameters will empower personnel capability vectors and result in greater financial viability during the projected downturn. Who wants to take this and run with it?

We got home at midnight, wrung out and bone-weary, a 20-hour day marathon, having driven from Cottonwood to Topange with a fully loaded trailer of stuff, convoying two vehicles all the way, through thunderstorms so thick you couldn't see the side of the road, gotten it all put in storage, tehn hauled the empty trailer thirty-five miles in insane LA traffic jams, still convoying, to finally establish son Tucker in his new digs on the wandering backroads of Topanga Canyon, ready to start his new job in five days. Whoof!! Wotta day!

This morning my dearest wife told me it was my birthday, and I replied, "Why, so it is!! How old am I?". But when she told me I didn't believe her anyway. I figure she had me mixed up with some older man in her life. I plan to keep an eye on that...

Now. If ye latin spoutin eruditics livin in the land of the free for all and the home of the brave but not the braves on accounta Rap's relatives were efficient (Yes, I agree that is EXteremly PI) (I am speaking to the western most latest drains on society who obtained pensions from the remaining useful workforce. They are both still filled to overflowing with years of contibutions to our greater good but they foraske us for want of "good times.") was at 'alf of it, eh, what, eh?

Well, I guess I'll just have to continue knowing The Answers to those questions. Amos has done loaded the wagon and headed East, I guess. Hope he makes it; gotta go to DC area myself on Tuesday fer a week fer "family stuff" fer ma wife. We're takin' an airship, though.

Farewell, Mamacita, my hands are not here, The party was great, there was plenty of beer. I am off to the highway to the far desert sands, In far Arizona you'll soon find my hands! The party is over, and I'm on the trail, Farewell Mamacita I am off to the east, With the cholla and quail. Farewell, Mamacita, I'll drink one more toast, While my hands are a-wandering I can't write a post.

Amos, now that you have retired you will have time to delve deeply into the Eternal Questions. Such questions as: Why am I here? What is the nature of sentient life? Who put the bop in the bop-she-bop-bop? What was before the Big Bang? Why is Rapparee such a clear, logical, and deep thinker? What happens to the "I" after death? Who put the ram in the ram-a-lama-ding-dong? What is the true nature of Charity? What is Love? Is it possible to step in the same river twice? What is outside of existence as we know it? If you CAN answer all of these I'll give you a beer at Getaway.

Trust me, Stilly -- it gets so you can't. Why, if it weren't for your appointments with doctors, dentists, hearing aid people, Social Security, wheel chair vendors, surgeons, and bill collectors you really wouldn't know what day it is.

If you are implyin' that we should resort to some sorta ritualized violence over this, Rap, I hafta remind you that it is against my principles to show violence to members of the female gender. I also gotta remind you that you insulted me first. I would be willin' to accept a modest apology from you for havin' done that and then just forget about the whole thing.

I am attempting to find an explanation for your insult to me, and, hence, to the company kept here, for as you surely must have learned as part of your upbringing, an insult given to anyone in company is an insult to the company as much as to the one insulted. Good breeding demands nothing less, for otherwise civility would die.

You have insulted me and through me all who post on MOAB, indeed, you have insulted Mother Herself.

Please tender an acceptable explanation or be prepared to settle this matter in other ways.

I am tryin' to make some sense outta yer protestations, Rap. It ain't easy. All I can come up with, since you feel I have insulted women by my insults to you is this: you must BE a woman. This surprises me. I had always figgered you for a man, cos there are very few women in this world who would have so little sense as to say some of the dumbass things you have said to me, but I guess anything is possible.

So...has it been easy masqueradin' as a man all these years? I bet it's been a lotta work. Now that you've "come out" and revealed yer true gender, are you gonna write a tell-all book about it?

Anyways, considerin' that you apparently are a woman, I will hafta show you a little more courtesy in future...but don't expect me to ask you out to dinner, okay?

Apollonius, my old friend Step on in and let me shake your hand So glad that you're here again for one more time Let your madness run with mine Streets still unseen, we'll find somehow No time is better than now

I have been informed that some one of you will be celebrating today. Remember that all is dross, and this celebration will be as but ashes in the mouth of celebrant. Life is made to be lived, to be endured, and you should thank the Gods that it is short and as free of pain as it is for it could be much worse. Bear it, for the Gods would not have you shorten it by deliberate action save to preserve yourself from worse.